"Letters of Aristodemus and Sincerus."* 



AN OLD BOOK ON THE COLONIES OF DEMERARA AND ESSEOUEBO. 



By fames Rodway, F.L.S. 



jHIS work appears to have been quite unknown 

 to the English writers on these colonies, and 

 as it is very interesting and valuable for 

 the light it throws on the state of affairs at a rather 

 critical period in our history, a brief account of the book 

 will probably be interesting at the present time. Who 

 were the writers of the letters is unknown, and from the 

 style of the work it may be presumed they had good reasons 

 for remaining in the background. The correspondence 

 was originally published in the Courier van Europa, the 

 principal writer, who styles himself Aristodemus, dating 

 from Demerara, September 2nd, 1784, while the reply 

 of Sincerus purports to have been sent from that colony 

 on the 26th of the same month. This seems to show 

 that the parties were living in the Netherlands, being 

 probably Demerara proprietors or persons interested in 

 the two rivers. 



As may be seen from the contents of the twelve 

 volumes, the u Letters" form less than half the work, 

 the remainder being made up of prefaces and observa- 

 tions of the editor, and appendices, the latter being the 

 most important, as they contain copies of official papers 

 connected with the colonies. Aristodemus writes very 



* Brieven over het Bestuur der Colonien Essequebo en Demerary, 

 gewisseld tusschen de Heeren Aristodemus en Sincerus, nevens Bylagen. 

 &c. Amsterdam, 1785-8, 12 vols., 8vo. 



FF2 



